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Common Name: Sugar Bush

General Information

Protea repens is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 2.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

S. Africa - Cape Province

Habitat

Mountain slopes to 300 metres[]. Although it mostly occurs on the flats, coastal forelands, lower and middle mountain slopes, it has also been found at altitudes up to 1500 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	2.50 m
Pollinators	Bees
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a very well-drained light soil[, ], preferably on the poor side[], with plenty of humus and sand[]. Requires a pH of 6.5 or lower[]. Plants are very sensitive to nitrates and phosphates in the soil, these can prove toxic even at moderate levels[]. Plants may also suffer from magnesium deficiency[]. Requires a position with good air circulation[, ], but sheltered from cold winds[]. Dislikes warm sultry or windless days[, ]. Requires full exposure to the sun[].
Not very hardy in Britain, but they can be grown outdoors in selected areas. Plants tolerate temperatures down to about -6°c, although prolonged frosts, or frosts combined with cold dry winds will cause damage[]. They are best grown in a cool greenhouse, but plants can be placed outdoors in the summer[].
A very ornamental plant[]. A good bee plant, providing an abundance of nectar[, ].
Protea repens occurs in fire prone vegetation, where natural fires occur every ten to thirty years[]. This 'Mediterranean' type of vegetation grows in soils with very low amounts of nutrients. These nutrients are used up by the plants during their lifetime and need to be returned to the soil to provide the food for a new generation of plants[]. Protea repens is adapted to survive the fires by producing seeds throughout its lifetime, some of the seeds being distributed and stored in the soil, others being stored in the old seedheads, which will only be stimulated to open and release the seeds when the plant dies or is killed by fire[]. These natural fires occur mainly in late summer or autumn and are followed by the first winter rains, which provide the moisture the young seedlings need to grow to a size at which they can survive the long, hot summer[].
Plants are intolerant of root disturbance and should be grown in pots until they are planted into their final positions[].

Edible Uses

The flowers are rich in nectar and this is often collected and used as a sweetener[, ]. It can be boiled down to make a delicious syrup and is then often also used medicinally[, , ].

Medicinal

The nectar is boiled down to make a sweet syrup[]. This is used medicinally and is antitussive and pectoral[, ].

Other Uses

The wood is a source of fuel for native people[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in individual pots in a greenhouse. See notes above on soil requirements. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood. mid summer in a frame[]. Cuttings are made from semi-hardwood, 6-10 cm long, of the current season's growth[]. The cuttings are dipped for about four seconds in a rooting hormone solution and placed in a growing house with bottom heat (25ºC) and intermittent mist[]. The rooted cuttings are potted up when the roots are well developed and planted out in the late autumn in South Africa, or in late spring in colder areas[].